Penguins are near and dear to the hearts of many, due in part to the many Hollywood movies that have been made about them; however these black and white creatures don’t live the typical lifestyle of a movie star. In fact, the life of a penguin is anything but easy. Their constant struggle for survival against predators, starvation and frigid temperatures, makes these distinctive birds a popular creature to study and learn about.
About the Emperor Penguin
The Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) is the largest of all penguin species. Adults can weigh up to 82lbs, and grow to about 3 1/2 ft. tall. Their coats consist of stiff, short, overlapping feathers that streamline their bodies. When hunting, these penguins propel themselves through water with flipper-like wings, in pursuit of fish, krill and squid.
Winters in Antarctica are brutally cold, and yet this is when the female penguin lays her single egg. After laying her egg, the female leaves immediately for the sea, and does not return until spring. It is the male’s job to carry, protect and keep the fragile egg warm, until his mate returns. The male carries the egg on his feet, and keeps it safe and warm by covering it with a soft “pouch” of feathery skin. The male penguins then huddle together for warmth against the frigid temperatures, in a large mass of black and white bodies. Since caring for the egg is as important as it is difficult, the males are unable to hunt, so they fast from the time the eggs are laid, until the female returns in the spring.
Listed below are a few other interesting penguin facts:
Penguin Fun Facts:
- Most penguins live and breed in colonies which consist of hundreds of thousands of birds
- When in large groups, penguins use visual displays and calls to locate their mates and young
- Penguins put their weight on the soles of their feet when they walk. This is why their gait appears awkward
- When hunting, a penguins dive usually lasts about a minute, but dives of up to 20 minutes have been recorded
- Some penguin species can swim at speeds of 9mph (14kph)
- Penguins spend most of their lives in water
How do penguins keep from freezing to death during the icy, sub-zero temperatures of an Antarctic winter?
Through study, scientists have learned that Emperor penguins are able to survive the miserably cold winter in Antarctica, by forming tightly packed huddles, however they have long wondered how the penguins on the outer edges of these large clusters of birds, were able to survive the harsh icy winds and frigid cold. Now, thanks to time lapse video, scientists have been able to uncover the penguin’s secret for staying warm.
In an article “Penguin Huddle Secrets Revealed with Time Lapse Footage”, by science reporter, Rebecca Morelle, BBC News, 2 June 2011, Dr. Zitterbart, a physicist at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany, explained how even the penguins on the outer edge manage to stay warm.
Dr. Zitterbart said: "The penguins have to huddle or otherwise they lose energy. If the huddle is too loose - the penguins freeze, but if you huddle too tight, you can't move at all. Anywhere you want to go, there is another penguin there."
Time lapse cameras recorded the answer to the puzzle by revealing that every 1.3 seconds over a period of several hours, the huddle of penguins was not a motionless mass of birds. "The colony would stay still for most of the time, but every 30-60 seconds one penguin or a group of penguin starts to move - just a little bit.” Zitterbart went on to explain.
The birds, located on the outer edges of the cluster, moved in an almost imperceptible wave, through the huddle, which allowed them to enjoy and benefit from the warmer areas inside the center of the group of birds.
Emperor penguins: beautiful, amazing and resourceful
A flightless bird that makes its home in virtually the coldest and harshest climate on Earth, risks starvation, exposure to frigid temperatures and predators, all to protect its beloved unhatched offspring, is nothing short of miraculous. Is it any wonder that Hollywood movie makers have capitalized on the tenacity and resourcefulness of this amazing creature?
Sources:
- “The Definitive Visual Guide to the World’s Wildlife”, Smithsonian Institution ANIMAL, David Burnie & Don E. Wilson, DK Publishing, Inc., 2005.
Kelly Dupree - My love of animals, especially cats, and my interest in science has led to a serious passion to write well researched articles.
